December 29th,1969-January 1st,1975 (ABC)
Dick Cavett is back on television as ABC's new entrant in the late-night race. The format is desk and sofa five nights a week like the Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin shows. As Cavett sees it, it's the chemistry that counts. His forte:an articulate way with an interview, plus approaches to comedy that range from youthful innocence to the cynicism of WC.Fields.
Guest: George Burns
June 7th, 1971: J.I. Rodale's Onstage Death
As noted in Cavett's autobiography, (pg321-323) on June 7th, 1971, publisher J.I. Rodale, an advocate of organic farming, died of a heart attack during taping. Cavett was speaking with journalist Pete Hamill when Rodale began to make a snoring noise. Cavett's reaction to this is contested-he claims that both he and Hamill realized immediately that something was wrong, while other accounts have him addressing the unconscious man "Are we boring you, Mr. Rodale?" The audience did not realize anything was seriously wrong until Cavett asked (avoiding the cliche) "Is there a doctor in the audience?"
The program was never aired and a rerun aired in its place. The following night, June 8th, 1971 (George Burns is a guest) Cavett describes his reaction at length as to what happened during last night's taping regarding J.I. Rodale's death and discusses the incident.
An audio aircheck of this opening exists; it is archived in the collection of Archival Television Audio, Inc. (www.atvaudio.com).